Cathy Cramer is a former lawyer and investigative blogger who writes commentary on local homicides. When she finds a threatening note warning her that she’s about to experience the same kind of judgment and speculation that she dishes out in her blog, Cathy writes it off as mischief…until her brother is caught in the middle of a murder investigation - the victim is his ex-wife. As her brother is tried and convicted in the media, and bloggers have a field day, Cathy wonders if she should have taken the threat more seriously.

Distortion: Moonlighters, Book 2

A husband's lies can have deadly consequences. When Juliet Cole's husband of 15 years is murdered before her eyes, she thinks it was a random shooting. Devastated and traumatized, she answers hours of questioning, then returns home to break the tragic news to her boys. But a threatening voicemail takes this from a random shooting to a planned, deliberate attack. Juliet realizes that she and her children are in danger too, unless she meets the killers' demands.

Twisted Innocence: Moonlighters, Book 3

Holly Cramer's past choices have finally caught up to her, but she never expected them to endanger her baby. Though Holly's stumbled through most of her adult life as a party girl, she longs to live a more stable life for her daughter. Then police show up to question her about the whereabouts of Creed Kershaw, Lily's father. She has kept his identity a secret from friends and family - she never even told him about the pregnancy. Now he's a person of interest in a drug-related murder case.

Taken

Abducted at the age of sixteen and coerced into assisting the Jacoby crime family, Shannon Bliss has finally found a way out. She desperately wants to resume some semblance of normal life, but she also knows she has some unfinished business to attend to. She has enough evidence to put her captors behind bars for a very long time.

Private Justice: Newpointe 911 Series, Book 1

A dark shadow of fear has fallen over Newpointe, Louisiana. First one, then another of the town firemen's wives has been murdered, and a third has barely escaped an attempt on her life. Incredible as it seems, a serial killer is stalking this sleepy little southern community. And Mark Branning's wife may be next on the list.

Shadow of Doubt: Newpointe 911 Series, Book 2

Detective Stan Sheperd lies comatose in the hospital, a victim of arsenic poisoning. The Newpointe police have a suspect: Celia Shepherd, Stan's wife.

Celia is no stranger to such charges. When her first husband died of poisoning, a technicality scuttled the case against her, and Celia got off scot-free. Now it looks like the same old story - only this time, the motive appears plain. But attorney Jill Clark thinks the pieces of the puzzle fit together a bit too neatly.

Trial by Fire: Newpointe 911 Series, Book 4

Book four in the Newpointe 911 series in which a church building burns to the ground, and a young man is found dead of a gunshot wound. The mystery is just being ignited as God uses disaster to bring about his will.

Southern Storm: Cape Refuge Series #2

Police Chief Cade disappears after hitting and killing a man with his car. Without a trace, without a note, without taking clothes or his car or money, he is gone. When a witness says she saw Cade getting into a blue Buick with a woman before his disappearance, the newspapers report that Cade left town to be with her. Blair knows it doesnt make sense for Cade to leave without word for any reason.

Firewall: FBI: Houston

After a whirlwind romance, Taryn Young is preparing to board a plane at Houston International Airport, bound for a dream honeymoon, when a bomb decimates the terminal. Injured but still alive, she awakens to discover her husband is missing, and they're both considered prime suspects in the attack. Further, the FBI is convinced her husband isn't who he appears to be. Agent Grayson Hall's number-one priority is to catch those responsible for the day's act of terror.

Breaker's Reef: Cape Refuge Series #4

In the fourth book of the Cape Refuge Series, a teenage girl is found murdered, and the scene matches one in a book by a famous mystery writer who just moved to the island. This murder has a connection to Hanover House, and the residents there might never be the same.

Downfall

Emily Covington has turned her life around after a drug addiction, but her family still has trouble trusting her. Though Emily has committed herself to a year-long treatment program and has been sober for almost a year beyond that, even her mother walks on eggshells around her, fearing she’ll relapse. After her behavior during her drug years, Emily realizes she has a lot to prove. When police discover a homemade bomb under Emily’s car, and she then learns the wife of one of her friends was murdered that same morning, she knows things are deadly serious.

River's Edge: Cape Refuge Series #3

In the third of the best-selling Cape Refuge series, mayoral candidate Ben Jackson seems to have the election locked. But when Jackson's wife turns up murdered, things begin to shift. Was this the act of a jealous lover? A dangerous client? Or is this all about the election?

Buried Secrets

After seven years as a Chicago homicide detective, Lisa Grant has hit a wall. Ready for a kinder, gentler life, she takes a job as a small-town police chief. But the discovery of a human skeleton by a construction crew at the edge of town taxes the resources of her department.

A Killer Among Us: Women of Justice Series, Book 3

Kit Kenyon is a first-rate hostage negotiator. Noah Lambert is a good detective with excellent instincts. These new partners have hardly had time to get used to each other when they are thrown into a grisly murder case. As evidence mounts up and more victims are found, Kit and Noah realize that they are on the hunt for a serial killer. The problem is he may be hunting one of them, too.

Shadow in Serenity

Carny Sullivan grew up in the zany world of a traveling carnival. Quaint and peaceful Serenity, Texas, has given her a home, a life, and a child. Logan Brisco is the smoothest, slickest, handsomest man Serenity has ever seen. But Carny Sullivan knows a con artist when she sees one—and she’s seen plenty, starting with her father. As far as Carny Sullivan can tell, she’s the only one in town who has his number. Because from his Italian shoes to his movie-actor smile, Logan has the rest of the town snowed.

Cape Refuge: Cape Refuge Series #1

When Thelma and Wayne Owens are found murdered in the warehouse where they held their church services, their son-in-law, Jonathan, is arrested for the crime - but his wife, Morgan, and her sister, Blair, as well as Thelma and Wayne's daughters, are confident that he didnt do it and set out to find the real killer.

Too Close to Home: Women of Justice, Book 1

When missing teens begin turning up dead in a small Southern town, the FBI sends in Special Agent Samantha Cash to help crack the case. Her methods are invisible, and she never quits until the case is closed.

Undetected

Commander Mark Bishop is deliberately low-key: "I'm in the Navy." But commanding the ballistic missile submarine USS Nevada, keeping her crew trained and alert during 90-day submerged patrols, and being prepared to launch weapons on valid presidential orders, carries a burden of command like few other jobs in the military. Mark wants someone to come home to after sea patrols. The woman he has in mind is young, with a lovely smile, and very smart. She's a civilian, yet she understands the U.S. Navy culture.

Night Light

An era unlike any in modern civilization is descending without lights, electronics, running water, or automobiles. As a global blackout lengthens into months, the neighbors of Oak Hollow grapple with a chilling realization: The power may never return.

Don't Look Back: Women of Justice Series, Book 2

Twelve years ago, forensic anthropologist Jamie Cash survived a brutal kidnapping. After years of therapy, she has made a life for herself, though it is one that is haunted by memories of her terrifying past. She finally lets herself believe that she can have a close relationship with a man, when signs start appearing that point to one frightening fact: her attacker is back and ready to finish the job he started all those years ago. Can Jamie escape her attacker's grasp a second time?

The Inn at Ocean's Edge

A vacation to Sunset Cove was her way of celebrating and thanking her parents. After all, Claire Dellamore's childhood was like a fairy tale. But with the help of Luke Elwell, Claire discovers that fairy tale was really an elaborate lie....

Publisher's Summary

Audie Award Finalist, Inspirational/Faith-Based Fiction, 2014

Cathy Cramer is a former lawyer and investigative blogger who writes commentary on local homicides. When she finds a threatening note warning her that she’s about to experience the same kind of judgment and speculation that she dishes out in her blog, Cathy writes it off as mischief...until her brother is caught in the middle of a murder investigation - the victim is his ex-wife. As her brother is tried and convicted in the media, and bloggers and commentators like her have a field day, Cathy wonders if she should have taken the threat more seriously.

Cathy and her two sisters, Holly and Juliet, moonlight as part-time private investigators, working to solve their brother’s ex-wife’s murder. Juliet, a stay-at-home mom of two boys, and Holly, a scattered ne’er-do-well who drives a taxi, put aside their fear and lack of confidence to learn the art of investigation.

But will it be too late to save their brother from a murder conviction, or his five-year-old son, who’s the killer’s next target?

I wish I'd read more of the comments about whining before I ordered this book. The pleading, grating, wheedling whine is incessant. If I didn't already love Terri Blackstock I might never listen to another one of her books. Ms. de Cuir interprets every emotion as a whine - fear, questioning, prayer, demands. And everyone whines - children, sisters, police officers, doctors, nurses. I actually think I like the story just fine. It has a good balance of suspense and plot turns, but keeps Blackstock's emphasis on faith and the power of people changing and choosing well. I still have half an hour to go and I'm not sure I can stand another 30 minutes of high pitched whines. I can't believe someone editing didn't stop Ms. de Cuir and ask her to dredge up ANY other voice.

The narrator did an excellent job. The suspense was wonderful. It was also nice to see how different family members deal with the problems facing the family since they have varying relationships with God. I've enjoyed all of Terri's books and look forward to upcoming releases.

Terri's books are always good, and this is no exception. It starts off exciting and never slows down. As my husband and I were listening, we kept "offering suggestions and warnings" to the characters! This is a well-developed and thought-out plot. We highly recommend it and look forward to the next in the series.

What made the experience of listening to Truth-Stained Lies the most enjoyable?

The author writes very well; her characters are real, and suspenseful. Her Christian message, though clear, is not heavy handed like many others in the genre. I like a good mystery, and though the story started a bit slow, the narrator kept me interested until it picked up. From then on, I couldn't stop listening. Good job.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Truth-Stained Lies?

If I told you, it would be a spoiler! ;0) It's toward the end. That is all I will say!

Have you listened to any of Gabrielle de Cuir’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes. I think I have listened to her on Coming Home by Karen Kingsbury, and enjoyed her and the male narrator very much. I loved the way she did the sisters in this one, especially Holly, who is a hoot. And not many readers can do little kids well. I also liked her reading of Shadow in Serenity by Terri Blackstock. She does emotional things that are very moving. Made the story very scary and exciting to me.

If you could sum up Truth-Stained Lies in three words, what would they be?

easy listening intrigue

Would you be willing to try another one of Gabrielle de Cuir’s performances?

no

Any additional comments?

Perfect for a vacation, easy listening, intriguing story to listen to and let your mind rest. The narrator was really hard for me to listen to though. Her accents were so bad as to be distracting and especially her rendition of Jackson, the little boy - really really bad. Loved the storyline and plot was engaging. Wish they screened the narrators better.

Would you try another book from Terri Blackstock and/or Gabrielle de Cuir?

I would NOT try another book by this narrator because she interprets every adult as a whiner, to the point I couldn't even finish the book. I have heard great things about Terri Blackstock and will try another one of her novels, but will will read more careful the reviews on the narrator.

What could Terri Blackstock have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The editors need to carefully screen the narrators ability. The story line actually sounds like it could have been a good one.

What didn’t you like about Gabrielle de Cuir’s performance?

The way she interprets every question or disagreement with such whining voice it destroys the story. I could only listen for about an hour and had to quit because I couldn't listen anymore.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Truth-Stained Lies?

Didn't get far enough into the book to give a review on the scenes.

Any additional comments?

Save your money and move on to another novel. I am disappointed because I really wanted to find out what happened to the characters and story line.

The narrator was horrible and whiny. I bought the book and read it myself because I couldn't stand her voice and the whine she gave each character. Wish I could give less than a full star here. Too bad. I love listening to books while commuting to and from work. I was looking forward to Blackstocks superb storytelling. Too bad the narrator choice ruined it.

I really enjoyed the storyline however, the narrator was way too dramatic and the pitiful voice is awful. She made the women sound very weak always breaking down over every little thing. Other than the drama queen voice I thought it was great and I'm anxious to read book two.

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